The Evolution Of Advertising In The Digital Age

The Evolution Of Advertising In The Digital Age

The consumer isn’t a moron, she is your wife. Said the great David Ogilvy.

Never has this insight rung truer than the time we’re in now.

For many years, advertising has been the loud and annoying salesman. The guy you want to slam the door on, or switch the remote off on.

The advertiser’s media plan was all about knocking at the door relentlessly – knocking till the audience got hypnotised and subliminally picked the product up at the supermarket.

Some advertisers will argue that this works. They may be right (in a lab rat kinda way) – more of what you see and hear, the more you’ll absorb.

In the process of this irritating salesman act, something happened – people started to hate advertising. They even created a button for this in the digital age. Skip Ad. And folks couldn’t wait for it to appear.

The digital advertising realm isn’t taking this lightly.

Starting with the belief that advertising is no longer a one-way process. Consumers want to engage with your work, tell you what you think, maybe even be part of the process.

Most of all, the constant drivel of bullshit is being cut down – human beings are actually starting to create communication that respects the time and intelligence of other human beings.

After having observed consumer behaviour in the digital age, here’s a serving of e-advertising dope cut into fines lines, ready to be consumed.

A smarter than ever consumer.

The new age consumer knows exactly what she’s going to buy. She probably knows more about the product than the salesman at the store. The ocean that is the internet is the key reason for this. Almost always online, and loaded with information, the ‘all-cheese’ approach to advertising will just evoke a ‘meh’ from this e-savvy consumer.

An ad is the easy way out.

Let’s face it. No one really looks forward to advertising. And with the advent of skip and swipe, your brand ad is more endangered than ever. This is essentially not a bad thing for agencies – they just have to think a little harder – be more creative as they say in those long winding meetings. The lazy ones can just call the irritating salesman to lead the pitch.

The Hire is one film in a series of short films made by BMW together with some of the world’s best directors. Breaking all category norms, the campaign was the first ever Titanium winner at the Cannes Lions Festival, applauded by the ad industry as well as the entertainment industry. This video: Hostage – starring Clive Owen and the BMW Z4. Directed by John Woo.

The return of long-form writing.

Agencies believe that their audiences don’t read – that’s simply because they’re not writing well enough. Well crafted copy was a prize horse back in Madison Avenue’s dominion of the advertising world. Let’s say it’s made a comeback – in the form of long form content. After all, isn’t extensive reading integral to high involvement purchase?

Be brave or repeat yourself.

Either believe in a brave idea – or use the power and safety of repetition. The brave idea gets spoken about and shared. The repetitive one makes the media planner rich. Take the classic case of Apple’s legendary 1984 commercial, aired nationally just once during the Super Bowl. In the digital realm, bravery is a safer choice.

Spraying graffiti on the American President’s ride. Ideas don’t get braver than what Droga5 did for streetwear brand Ecko. An idea that travelled like wildfire across the digital realm, it struck gold when the President’s crew were called to look into the matter.

Daily conversation, year-long engagement.

Out of sight, out of mind. Regular engagement is what makes the difference here. Sure, advertising your range of school bags before school reopening is fine, but what about the rest of the year? Do school bags just vanish into thin air and reappear before the summer vacation? Instead, think how a school bag can be relevant on Mother’s Day. How about Valentine’s Day? Daily engagement simply means better recall for your brand, all year through.

New media means new ways to connect.

Traditional media is like the missionary pose; predictable, boring and probably what your parents did. The new age demands the discovery of new ways to connect with your audience. This has changed everything, from midnight mobile shopping breaks to same day deliveries, to algorithms that predict your buying patterns. Exciting times for consumer, brand and the agency.

Source: The Next Web

Where storytelling rules supreme.

You meet a guest at a party who tells you their name 4 times per minute. There’s another guest who tells you an interesting story. Chances are you’ll remember the name of the second guest. So shoving your brand’s logo 4 times in a commercial is not the way to build a brand. Move over hard sell – hello persuasion and story-telling.

A time to entertain your audience.

Stress in today’s world is more potent and rampant than ever. The last thing your target audience wants to hear is that irritating jingle by a brand that believes that it should be inserted in every possible available slot on prime time television. So, go easy on your audience – add some fresh insight, sprinkle some persuasion – entertain them after a hard day.

Mobile is the screen that touches your audience first.

You’re investing in huge budgets for the creation of your ad for television. Then you’re investing in a massive media plan to make sure that people watch your ad on television. But the key question is, are television sets actually being switched on? Not surprising in a time where the launch of a new smartphone is more anticipated than the election of a new government.

Unleashing the power of earned media.

You know your digital idea is working when you’re no longer paying for the media. The consumers who love your work have become your distribution channel. They’re sharing it with their friends. Some of them are even writing about your brand. Hell, what else could a brand ask for? Earn media means that you’ve truly made a connection with your audience, and that they’re taking your idea further.

NOTE: In no way is this piece a diss to traditional advertising agencies. They’re a passionate lot who’ll hit back at the slightest hint of an assault. The point that’s trying to be made is that everything around us is changing. Transportation, education, sport, music, film, anything else you can think of – so why should advertising be left behind?

About the author

After close to two decades in traditional advertising, Melvin is currently the Creative Disruptor at Limitless Creative Room, Bangalore. Motivated by boredom, he strongly believes that advertising should behave less like advertising as time moves on.